King Hall Faculty and Presenters at 2025 AALS Conference
Several members of the UC Davis School of Law faculty are featured speakers and hold leadership positions at the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) 2025 Annual Meeting, in San Francisco, Jan. 7-11, 2025. The theme of the conference is “Courage in Action.”
Wednesday, Jan. 8:
Professor Afra Afsharipour will participate in its session “From Courage to Action: The Role of Comparative Law to Promote Innovation and Sustainability” at 9:50 a.m. She is chair-elect of the Comparative Law Section, co-sponsored by European Law and East Asian Law and Society.
Professor Brian Soucek will speak at the Section on Law Professors with Disabilities and Allies’ panel “Teaching in the Crosshairs: Attacks on DEI and the Future of Legal Pedagogy,” at 2:40 p.m. The Section is co-sponsored by Disability Law, Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity Issues, and Women in Legal Education. Soucek also serves on the executive committee of the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Section.
Professor Amelia Miazad will speak at the Section on Securities Regulation’s works-in-progress “New Scholars” session at 2:40 p.m.
On Wednesday evening, alumni, faculty, and friends are invited to attend a reception at 6 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 9:
Eric Burns, King Hall’s in-house counselor, will speak at the Student Services Section’s session, “That 'Safe' Word: Moving Students from Feeling Unsafe to Engaging Bravely in Discourse,” at 8 a.m.
Professor Sarah Polcz will participate at the Section on Securities Regulation’s panel, “AI, Securities Regulation, and Using Big Data to Explore Securities Regulation Issues,” at 8 a.m.
At the Latinx law professors annual dinner during the AALS meeting, Distinguished Professor Kevin Johnson will be honored for his years of service as UC Davis Law dean from 2008-2024. Professor Raquel Aldana will do the introduction for the award.
Friday, Jan. 10:
Professor Mary Ziegler is participating in several panel discussions. At 8 a.m. Professor Ziegler will speak for the Section on Law and the Humanities Section, co-sponsored by Legal History and Scholarship. The session is titled, “Constructing Tradition: How the Humanities Inform the Role of Tradition in the Law.”
At 12:30 p.m. she will be at the Federalist Society Annual Faculty Conference Luncheon and Panel: Abortion Law After Dobbs. Later at 2:40 p.m., Professor Ziegler will join the AALS Open Source Program’s discussion, “Lessons from Reproductive Justice: What the Movement Can Teach Other Doctrines.” Ziegler is also the outgoing chair of the Legal History Section. Professor Carlton F.W. Larson is the chair-elect.
Professor Lisa R. Pruitt will be a speaker at the Section on Scholarship’s panel, “Supporting the Student Scholar,” at 8 a.m. The Section is co-sponsored by Law Libraries and Legal Information and Legal Writing, Reasoning, and Research.
Professor Nila Bala will be a speaker at the Section on Internet and Computer Law’s works-in-progress session at 8 a.m.
Professor Chimène Keitner will speak at the International Human Rights and International Law Joint Program Section’s panel, “Litigation in the International Court of Justice under the Genocide Convention,” at 9:50 a.m.
Kelley Weiss, Executive Director of Marketing and Communications, will be among the speakers for the Section on Institutional Advancement’s “Maximizing Social Media Impact for Law Schools” panel discussion at 12:50 p.m.
Professor Raquel E. Aldana is on the committee of the International Human Rights Section and she will speak on its panel discussion titled, “Critical Perspectives on International Criminal Law,” at 4:30 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 11:
Professor Shayak Sarkar will speak at the Financial Regulation Section’s works-in-progress session, “Emerging & New Voices in Financial Regulation Law,” at 8 a.m.
Professor Nila Bala will present her new works-in-progress for the Section on Criminal Procedure at 8 a.m.
Professor David Horton will be a commentator at the Section on Business Association’s works-in-progress “Business Law” session at 2:40 p.m.
Professor Karrigan Börk will participate in the Sections on Environmental Law & Natural Resources and Energy Law Joint Program’s works-in-progress at 2:40 p.m.
Professor Afra Afsharipour is a panelist for the Section on Race and Private Law’s session, “Does Race Matter in Private Law,” at 4:30 p.m.
Professor Albert C. Lin will be a speaker at the Section on Community Economic Development’s panel discussion “Clean Energy and Community Economic Development” at 4:30 p.m. The Section is co-sponsored by Environmental Law.
Additional UC Davis Law AALS Leadership
Distinguished Professor Kevin R. Johnson serves on the Membership Review Committee.
Senior Assistant Dean for Student Affairs Emily Scivoletto is a newly appointed Executive Committee member for the AALS Section on Student Services.
Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Donna Shestowsky is Chair Regent of the AALS Section on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).